Latest From Biotech Now

BIO’s World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology will be held May 12-15, 2014 in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has officially declared Monday, May 12, 2014 as “Declaration of Energy Independence” day! According to Greenworks, Philadelphia plans on becoming the greenest city in America by 2015. With that, the mayor has made this proclamation to show the city’s support for renewable fuels and the need to shift away from a reliance on petroleum. Read More >

“This contention is meritless.” Doesn’t “withstand scrutiny.” “Ignores salient facts.” That was the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Monroe Energy and PBF Energy’s challenge to the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard. The companies asked the Court to vacate the entire RFS for 2013, claiming the blendwall makes it impossible for them to comply with the RFS and EPA did not use its waiver authority to reduce biofuel use. “Neither Read More >

Partnering activity for BIO 2014 is riding at a record-breaking 4,000+ meeting requests eight weeks before the conference. The previous record was set at BIO 2012, with 770 partnering requests at the same timeframe. That’s an increase of 420%. While we’re experts at predicting partnering stats, these numbers have caught us by surprise. So what does this mean for you? ONE: This year you need to start partnering early to increase the chance that your Read More >

A recent USA Today article, picked up from content provider Ozy.com, mischaracterizes the message of a research article on land use changes. In their 2012 study on grasslands, South Dakota State University ecologists Christopher Wright and Michael Wimberly try to convey that the opportunity for cellulosic biofuel production to take root in the Great Plains and Western Corn Belt is in danger of being lost. The authors correctly note that public policy and economic incentives Read More >

In a recent press release, BIO’s Cathy Enright calls attention to the recently published PG Economics report, “GM Crops: Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts 1996-2012”. The economic benefits for farmers who use genetically modified (GM) seeds amounted to an average of more than $117/hectare in 2012, according to the PG Economics report. Farmers around the world who use seeds improved with biotechnology are benefiting economically while improving the environmental sustainability of their farming operations. “Half of the Read More >